For all my NYC readers, there’s a good deal coming up on October 16th! Mark your calendars … Kate Spade is hosting an evening of shopping and spirits (not necessarily in that order!) to celebrate nest, a nonprofit helping creative women in developing countries. 20% of all purchases will be donated to Nest.

Nest has been featured in our Sane Shopping section (under Arts/Crafts) for a long time, and I think they’ve got a great cause, beautiful products, and best of all, they benefit women!

follow along

recent posts

We moved to Brooklyn when Douglas was 18 months, and I felt exhilarated and terrified … and even more lonely. The bigger and more crowded the city, the more it seems we build little imaginary walls around ourselves in order to stay sane while squished thigh-to-thigh with perfect strangers on the train. The desire to Not Get Involved is huge, but so is the ability to rally and connect and help when big things hit.

We moved to Chicago when I was seven, so Dad could manage Bible Truth Publishers, and my social circles shifted hugely. No local family other than my siblings and parents, a much larger meeting, and a growing awareness of politics and unspoken rules … still with a lot of love, but the rules had very obviously changed and the stakes were higher.

We're boondocking, in Oklahoma this time, needing a couple days to ourselves in-between visits. There's an increase in the down time we need, and I think it speaks to our desire to settle somewhere coming very close to the surface. It's been simmering for months. It means I've been thinking about community and fellowship a lot. Soaking it in where I can. Craving it. Studying it.